Cardinals' Lyons pleased with first rehab performance

You think big-league lefty Tyler Lyons wants it? He went off-script Monday night, in the kind of way that gets noticed by coaches and organizations.

The plan called for the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher to kick-start an injury rehab assignment — in front of general manager John Mozeliak, no less — and then throw a couple of innings for Double-A Springfield, followed immediately with some clubhouse media time.

But for a guy testing his cranky left shoulder and having last pitched in the majors on May 12, Lyons delivered an encouraging two-inning appearance but was in no rush to exit the dugout afterward.

"I was catching up with some guys and talking some baseball," a smiling Lyons said during Springfield's game against Tulsa at Hammons Field. "It's fun to be around the guys and hang out. I've been in St. Louis the last 10 days with the team gone. It's fun to be around the guys again."

Folks here may not realize it, but Lyons actually was part of Springfield's 2012 Texas League championship club — he worked 12 starts in the season's first two months before reaching Triple-A Memphis in mid-June.

As he leaned against the clubhouse wall Tuesday night, he explained that his Memphis time led to an adjusted strategy. He threw more fastballs, especially in on batters' hands, and broke a maddening habit of nibbling with offspeed pitches.

He's always been an interesting athlete, a former Texas high school quarterback in Lubbock and a starting pitcher for Oklahoma State before the Cardinals drafted Lyons in the ninth round in 2010.

And so the emphasis on his fastball actually created a path last season to the big leagues and again this year, as he enjoyed some success.

A year ago, he became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw seven-plus innings in his first two career starts, yielding only one run or less, four hits or less and one walk or less. On May 6 this year, he limited the Braves to one run on four hits over six innings.

Now he has to replicate the strategy, in a season interrupted by a shoulder strain and at a time when it's uncertain whether he'll reclaim a spot in St. Louis. His injury rehab assignment ends in 29 days.

Against Tulsa, Lyons threw 24 pitches, 17 for strikes. He struck out three of the final four batters, all on sliders. And the Drillers' first-inning run? They had to earn it.

A one-out chopper over third baseman Patrick Wisdom and Harold Riggins' rocket, line-drive single that kicked off the glove of shortstop Greg Miclat quickly broke the scoreless tie. A bloop single followed, but it was Tulsa's last baserunner against him.

Mostly, Lyons pitched free and easy, pain-free and spotted the fastball where he wanted it, he said.

"Once I got to Triple-A (in 2012), I had to learn to pitch off my fastball a little bit more. You have to be able to throw fastballs in hitters counts but still be able to get outs. I thought that and learning to pitch inside and just moving the fastball around opened up a lot of doors for me."

And Monday?

"Tonight, I was able to kind of move the fastball around," Lyons said. "I wasn't too worried about how hard it was or anything like that, just move it in and out, two-seam or four-seam."

Given the re-emergence of lefty Jaime Garcia in the St. Louis rotation, Lyons' path to the rotation seems blocked. But perhaps a spot could be needed in the bullpen, given lefty Kevin Siegrist recently went on the disabled list.

Lyons said he's not concerned with all of it, only what he can control. He learned a lot last season anyway, pitching well in Memphis and got rewarded by traveling with St. Louis throughout the October playoffs.

"For me, it's about slowing the game down and taking it one pitch at a time. That's something I learned last year as the season went along," Lyons said. "You can only control that next pitch. That's what I've tried to focus on."

Five Cardinals named Texas-League All-Stars

Prospect outfielder James Ramsey on Monday was among five Springfield Cardinals voted to play in the league's annual showcase, set for June 24 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Ark. The others are first baseman Jonathan Rodriguez, catcher Cody Stanley, right-hander Joey Donofrio and left-hander Kyle Hald.

• Ramsey, 24, is batting .305 with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs, and was among the league leaders in those categories before suffering a shoulder injury May 16. He also has scored 34 runs and owned a league-leading .583 slugging percentage through 40 games.

• Rodriguez, 24, hit .346 with nine doubles, four home runs and 15 RBIs in April. Before Monday, he had a .389 average (7-for-18) and five RBIs in his past five games.

• Stanley, 25, enjoyed a big May (32-for-88, .364) and is eighth overall in the circuit in batting (.298). Defensively, he is second in the league with a 42.4 percent caught-stealing percentage, nabbing 14 of 33 baserunners.

• Donofrio, 25, has a 1.33 ERA through 27 innings, striking out 24. He didn't allow an earned run in 18 appearances from April 14 to June 1.

• Hald, 25, has gone 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA, the fith-best ERA in the league, since arriving from high Class A Palm Beach on April 20.